


Strange Nights in Strange Places

by FallingInToThePages



Category: Welcome to Night Vale
Genre: AU, Accidental Relationship, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, CreatureVale, F/F, F/M, Fae & Fairies, Folklore, Gen, Greek Mythology - Freeform, Immortality, Kidnapping, M/M, Multi, Mutual Pining, Mythology - Freeform, Mythology References, Other, Research, Russian Mythology, Science Experiments, Slow Burn, Slow To Update, Strong Female Characters, Trans Character, awkward courting
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-21
Updated: 2017-05-21
Packaged: 2018-10-24 02:28:10
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10732257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FallingInToThePages/pseuds/FallingInToThePages
Summary: Carlos and his team of scientists are driving around late one night when a fast blur coming from the woods slams their van off of the dirt road. Later that night, Carlos wakes up, the world upside down, facing a group of crazed, pointy-toothed gremlin-like 'people'.AU





	Strange Nights in Strange Places

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, everyone!
> 
> I recently got into Welcome to Nightvale and thought up an AU, which is probably not an uncommon one. It involves the citizens of Nightvale being creatures, Carlos and his team are the only humans. Using my love of mythology, I have researched up creatures that match their personalities, followed by a lot of wacky plot twists and antics with these weirdos that I am fascinated with. A warning though is with my multiple stories, this one (As the many others) will probably not be updated as frequently, though I will not abandon it.
> 
> I hope you all enjoy it!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summer of 1988, forest.

Brushing his caramel curls away from his face, Carlos wiped his hand over his face, adjusting his glasses absent-mindedly. His sharp eyes focused on the old, crumpled map in his hands as he swayed with the movements of the van. "Yo," his friend slash co-worker Darcy piped up, "Jason, are you planning on hitting every single tree root you see?" She asked him with an exasperated tone, "Some people are actually handling ingredients that shouldn't be dumped," Carlos furrowed his eyebrows at this, looking up quickly from the map.  
"Darcy," Carlos gave a tired chuckle, seeing that she had only been messing with them. She was slouching in her seat, her facial features pulled into a slightly bored expression as she fiddled with their shared journal for experiments and observations. They all wore the typical white lab coats seen on any show portraying scientists, their more personalized clothing showing through the parting of the open coats. She sported a particularly colorful scarf and earmuffs, considering where they were.

Carlos went back to observing the map that had been given to them from some of the villagers a few miles back. They were a superstitious bunch, with barely any technology, besides a cruddy computer in a small, run-down police station where they had to show the officers their passports and the like. They had been given some wide-eyed stares from the people, seemed to be paranoid of outsiders, even after they had explained that they had no intentions to damage any of the natural sights, but to study the lore and science behind some of the phenomena. One old lady had a lot to say to that, and Carlos was thankful that he barely understood the dialect since her fury probably caused some nasty things to be spat at them. He spared a glance at one of the local boys that had gladly tagged along for their little 'adventure', as he slept on the long couch, his blond hair swarming around his head like a patch of snowdrops. Carlos sighed and continued to read the map while looking at a small book that was given to them about the woods that they were venturing into, easily ignoring Darcy's music blaring out from her earbuds while she read her own book. 

The trip continued with the occasional conversation about the folklore and urban legends that came with where they were, and there being nothing to look at from the side windows of the homely van, as it was pitch black outside. Carlos tiredly scrubbed his face, standing up and moving away from Feliks, the short, pale Russian groggily blinking at the movement and sound of rustling clothing and papers. He walked over to where Jason was driving, setting his hand down on the old, tattered green leather seat. He was greeted with the rifts of a Metallica song, significantly turned down and made to only play in the front part of the van. "You wanna settle in for tonight?" Carlos asked the man after a murmured greeting. Jason shrugged, his dark green eyes watching the dirt road that was lit by their headlights. Just as Jason was about to open his mouth to give a verbal reply, he made a surprised grunt, jumping as a white blur flew out from the woods with no warning. Jason jerked the wheel in a hasty movement, sending Carlos to lean heavily against the driver's seat, as he heard a thump that indicated that Feliks had rolled off of the seat, and onto the floor.

Carlos heard the glass break, the windows exploding as the thick tree limbs seemed to grab at the van that had collided with them. Glass flew everywhere, hitting and cutting the van's passengers, loud screams and yelling coming from them as they were tossed around. The dirt road had ditches and wild saplings along it that caught the vehicle's wheels and making the machine flip and bounce off of the thick trunks. Carlos was thrown forward, as the van finally crashed into one of the many humongous trees surrounding them. He tried to brace himself, his muscles tensing as his back hit the top of the windshield, as the tree dented the roof of the gray van, his back scraping against the metal outlining of the busted roof, the impact with the tree tilting the car to the left as it caught against the strong organism.

Carlos blearily heard the groans and moans coming from his coworkers as his vision began to flicker, his head having been bashed off of a medium sized rock. He heard Jason call out for the others with a raspy, trying to see if everyone was alright. Carlos felt the blissfully soft grass with his numb hand, the feelings lost on his shocked nerves, the pain from the crash lost to him in his disorientated state of mind. His eyelids almost fell shut before a shape in the corner of his eye caught his wavering attention. He tilted his heavy head towards the thing, the blue creature seeming to multiply with the cracks in his large glasses that had managed to stay with him throughout the crash. It seemed to be a ball of blue flames, hovering in the air. He slowly blinked his eyes at the being, as he belatedly realized that he was in the air.

His limbs were heavy and screamed as he tried to look at who or what was holding him. His neck gave a pop, and his head throbbed, blood and other fluids dripping down his cheek as his brown eyes looked up at the thing. It towered over him, seeming to lick its chops as his eyes connected with the sickly yellow, the irises were blown wide. As his nerves began to awaken, he could feel the spider-like arms gripping him, the bony fingers biting into his shapely body hungrily. In the faint moonlight that broke through the protective canopy above their hands, added with the blue lights of the other creatures, and Carlos could see the outlines of ribs, clear on the creature's body. With his nerves awakening, he was hit with the overwhelming pain that had hidden behind his initial shock and tension. His jaws slack and lips open, a groan flew out as his joints began to spasm in his pain, twitching this way and that.

Just as he felt the pain couldn't get any worse, he was proven wrong as the fingers tightened, feeling like they were taking bites from his sides. He felt thick droplets of what must have been drool fall onto his face, as he felt a searing pain in his collar bone. His throat seemed to be ripped open with the scream that was pulled from him like a drag from a cigarette. His breath was knocked out of his battered body, as he was suddenly dropped to the hard ground. He abruptly blacked out, something that he didn't exactly have anything against of course if it kept him from experiencing the searing pain that wracked his body.

He didn't know how much time had passed while he was unconscious, but soon he awoke to be hung by his ankles from a low hanging tree branch. The weak moonlight cascaded down his face, as he found himself in a part of the forest that had an opening, filled with a variety of strange... creatures to say the least. His body ached, and his eyes squinted as the moonlight beamed directly on his face and the loss of his glasses having a toll on his vision.  
He couldn't see the creatures too clearly, as his ears picked up the sound of garbled voices. It seemed like they were actually a trick of the light, as they shimmered and appeared out of nowhere. He turned his head slightly to his left, then his right. He found his coworkers in the same situation as him, though some seemed to have worse injuries than what he had gotten from the crash. Blinking his eyes, he was suddenly greeted by a pair of curious eyes a few inches from his own.

They pulled away abruptly as fast as they had appeared, seeming to disappear into the green foliage surrounding them. He was starting to feel nauseous from the blood rushing to his head, as he started to break out in a cold sweat, his stomach twisting with the added nerves at not knowing where he was and the aching pain he was experiencing. From his throbbing head, he almost missed the apparent voice that started to speak. Sounding vaguely human and calm, Carlos turned his head towards the sound, his squinting eyes catching on the deathly pale creature that was speaking in a language that he recognized. "Human," the creature settling its dark blue eyes on him as it caught his movement. "Why have you come to our territory?" It's question sounding more of an order while moving towards him on legs that belonged to some animal that he couldn't identify at the moment. He cleared his throat, a thin, broken voice that he didn't recognize as his own, came from his torn and blistered lips. "We have come to study the magic in these woods," he told the creature in a mashed up version of the language, tripping over his bloated tongue that had been bitten in the car crash.

"We mean no harm," he told the creature, looking into the beings dark eyes that seemed to tear through his soul, looking for something in his thoughts and feelings. He flinched as the creature's human-like hand that felt unbelievably cold and like a corpse. "I see truth in your words," the creature murmured in a soft tone, dragging his hand across Carlos' upside down face, making his skin tingle, as though he had stuck a fork in an electrical outlet, scorching his bruised body. The creature turned to face the gathered creatures, flashing them a feral grin, as he said something to them in a more foreign language, something that Carlos couldn't have possibly learned, as it just sounded like grunts and squawking with strange clicks. The rope holding him in the air was suddenly cut, and he fell into surprisingly plush arms, comparing them to the twig ones that had carried him earlier in the night.

He felt the being move their head closer to his head and felt the warm lips that whispered softly to him in his native tongue of English, startling him at the drastic change of languages being spoken around him. "I shall be the one to tend to you and your companions wounds," they told him, their voice deep and gentle, unlike the scratching tones of the creatures in the clearing. The being spoke in scattered clicks as Carlos felt them move, turning his head to the side, he caught the sight of his coworkers' relatively limp bodies being carried in the arms of humanoid creatures, their skin a glowing green in the fading light as they walked away from the clearing and deeper into the woods. "Are they okay?" Carlos asked in a weak voice, turning his head to look up at the being carrying him. He was greeted with a face that was almost as pale as the creature with dark blue eyes, though they were more like someone that you would find in a painting from the Victorian Era instead of the deathly pale of the other creature. Purple eyes flickered down to look at him, a soft smile on the beings lips, "They don't feel dead yet," the being said in a tone that was probably supposed to be assuring, but just baffled Carlos, making him give a frown in reply.

They soon found their way to a little hut, the walls thick and half hidden by the tightly gathered trees. The more Carlos looked at it with his tired eyes, the more he saw that the hut was actually made from a mixture of the trees and overhanging cliff. This part of the woods was quiet, giving the impression of an empty world with no people to be found but nature. The door was pulled open by the other creatures that wore the same earth colored togas as the being holding Carlos. Upon entering the hut, Carlos realized that the inside was much larger than the outside of the house. He was laid down on a large hammock, which swung him gently, giving him a full view of the dirt ceiling. He heard the bustling of the creatures around him, and soon heard Darcy's voice from his left, he gently turned his head and saw her frantic, blood and dirt covered face, filth that made her tear tracks stick out clearly. "Carlos," she cried, her breath coming out in heavy sobs, as she looked to her elder with blatant fear in her dark eyes, "I don't want to die out here," she whispered, her voice as wrecked as his.

Carlos nodded, letting out a deep breath, he spared a glance at the open doorway at the front of the room. "These guys seem to have more humility than the ones that knocked the van over," he told her in an unsure voice, unable to make her any promises that they wouldn't hurt them, or that they wouldn't die out in these woods. "We can't run around with our injuries, or risk getting lost and eaten," Carlos added in a choked voice, trying to keep his mind clear from the pain and terror that came with the thoughts of the things that could live in this place. Darcy gave a weak nod, having evened out her breathing to hear the somewhat calming tone of the older man. "Wise words," a soft voice piped up from the doorway, as one of the creatures came in with a tray holding cups and a kettle. They set the tray down on a stand that stood in the middle of the four filled hammocks, ignoring the tensed bodies of the two. "This remedy here should heal any internal bleeding and help your muscles heal as well," they informed them, their purple eyes looking up at them, as they clasped their hands in front of them.

Their lithe form was relaxed, the toga falling over their body with a graceful sensation, their short blond hair pinned back and braided at the sides. Their pale skin was broken by the visible charcoal tattoos that adorned their forearms and went to their fingers. And as Darcy and Carlos continued their suspicious observation, they blinked at the eye on their forehead. "My name is Cecil," the being told them, their voice deep and melodic, "The others that brought you here with me are my sisters," they added with a tiny, fond smile. They tilted their body, bowing towards them with a sincere expression on their face, "I am sorry for the rash actions of the creatures outside this hut," they apologized, "They can get a bit rambunctious when they're hungry." Carlos heard Darcy's breath hitch with fear, as he awkwardly cleared his throat. "Well," he rasped unsurely, not knowing what would offend the creature, "Thank you, Cecil," Carlos received a nod in return, as the creature seemed to float over to his bedside. He watched a pale hand cautiously approach his face, too tired and worn out to properly flinch away as the creature tenderly held his cheek, " I'll try to keep you and you little friends safe," Cecil promised in a soft voice, their face earnest and seemingly innocent compared to the last face he had looked into.

in a soft

"Now," the creature exclaimed, walking over to sit between his and Darcy's beds, seeing as they were the only two awake at the moment. "Shall I tell stories to ease your fears of me and my remedy?" Cecil asked them, looking at the two with calm eyes, understanding humans enough that he knew that they wouldn't instantly drink the remedy without having some trust in the person who made it. Carlos and Darcy blinked in surprise at the sentence, seeming to come from nowhere. Cecil suddenly let out a little gasp, startling the tense patients, "You must be thirsty anyways!" Cecil muttered to them self, bustling around the infirmary in a flustered manner. In the room through the doorway, they heard the soft trickle of water, and clinking of cups, before they saw the purple eyed being rush back in.

"It had been so long since I have had to deal with mortals," Cecil admitted, as they set the ceramic cups on the nightstands, "I always forget the basic necessities of such a resilient race." Carlos blinked at the strange sentence, as the creature turned to face him, their purple eyes examining them closely, as both humans made no move to grab their drinks. "Oh, was it the wine that a human needed to survive?" Cecil asked curiously, "Or do you not drink anything at all?" Their voice picked up speed as the silence stretched, both people uncertain whether this was some strange test or anything. Cecil shifted, appearing to become uncomfortable at the silence when a laughing voice from the doorway drew their attention from the blushing creature.

"Oh sweet sibling," the curvy, beautiful woman like creature laughed, "These humans are just too intimidated to drink your offerings," the woman explained. Her tone gave the impression that Cecil was a younger sibling, though her respectful features and posture indicated otherwise. She turned her soft brown eyes on the injured humans, her toga flowing around her as she glided over to them. "Trust our remedies, else you'll find death to come upon you in a short while," the woman warned in a dramatic voice, making both of them pale in fright as Cecil squeaked in outrage. "Mel!" Cecil shouted, looking at the humans with a concerned eye, "Must you scare the life from their cheeks?" They scolded, wagging a finger at the brown haired woman, her long locks falling freely down her back, as she held a bag, most likely filled with bandages from their neighbor.

Mel rolled her eyes, turning to the humans and giving a small nod, "I mean no harm, but your injuries must be treated." Carlos and Darcy gave shaky nods, as the woman handed them two of the four vials, before turning to the unconscious men towards the back of the room. Carlos kept a wary eye on the creature, almost doing a spit take when he realized how close Cecil had gotten to him when he tried to look over at Darcy. "It's been a long time since I heard some stories," Cecil suddenly told them as they plopped down on the chair after staring at Carlos for a reasonable amount of time. Feeling slightly better, Darcy raised an eyebrow at the creature. Cecil blushed at the girl's expression, looking away bashfully as they pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill. "I like stories a lot," they explained in a quiet voice, "I haven't gotten to travel anywhere in a long time, and wish to write what you know." Carlos stared at this meek creature, trying to pinpoint them with any lore that he could think of, but came up empty handed.

Not knowing if it was rude to ask, and not wanting to piss off a potential ally, Carlos carded away the question for later, before clearing his throat. "When was the last time that you had gone near any, huh, humans for a story?" Carlos asked in a polite voice, ignoring his slight fatigue so that he could make sure that this creature wouldn't feel unsatisfied enough to decide to eat them or something. Cecil seemed to go into deep thought, nibbling on the end of their feathered quill. "I believe 804," they said in an unsure voice, looking to their sister for confirmation. Carlos shifted his head a little to look at the woman and saw her nod her agreement. He gaped at the two in surprise, Darcy giving a little sleepy giggle as she was becoming overwhelmed with her own fatigue. "804 BC?" Carlos asked in an awed voice, his eyes wide with wonder as he looked at the seemingly youthful creatures in the room, Cecil gave a nod, looking at a book that had suddenly appeared in the hands while Carlos had been gaping. Cecil made a humming noise, tapping their quill and rustling the pages of their parchment when they made the book disappear right in front of Carlos' eyes.

Carlos gave a weak chuckle, resting his heavy head on the sinfully comfy pillow, "I guess you could say a few things happened since then."


End file.
